Ninja Monkeys! » health

Hearts Actually Can Break

Vaughn Dickson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:39:31 +0000

“It seems that there’s a grain of truth to one old wives’ tale; it turns out that you really can die of a broken heart, especially if you’re a post-menopausal woman. The Wall Street Journal reports on a phenomena called ‘broken-heart syndrome,’ which often occurs after great emotional distress. Quoting: ‘In a conventional heart attack, an obstructed artery starves the heart muscle of oxygenated blood, quickly resulting in the death of tissue and potentially permanently compromising heart function. In contrast, the heart muscle in broken-heart-syndrome patients is stunned in the adrenaline surge and appears to go into hibernation. Little tissue is lost.’ In the article a doctor notes, ‘The cells are alive, but mechanically or electrically disabled.’ Documented cases track heart attacks in people with seemingly healthy hearts after the grief of the death of a loved one. Intense feelings can cause the heart actually to change shape. Doctors call this ‘tako-tsubo,’ after the Japanese phrase for ‘octopus trap,’ so called because the syndrome was first identified by a Japanese doctor who noticed the strange shape in the left ventricle. Doctors note that while strong emotions like grief are usually associated with the syndrome, stress or a migraine can also trigger such heart attacks.”

Link

Food colourant saga continues

Vaughn Dickson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:56:33 +0000

What gives Nesquik Strawberry its bright pink colour? A combination of two synthetic red food dyes – Ponceau 4R (E124) and erythrosine (E127).

The former appeared in this column last week, as it’s one of six colourants found in a UK study to aggravate behavioural problems in children

News – Finance/ Labour: Colourant saga continues

Now I know why I have a ten second attention span and – hey look, kittens! – can’t focus: it’s all thanks to a Nesquik Strawberry addiction in my youth! Look at any food label these days and you’ll see long lists of new chemicals getting thrown into everything, and it makes me wonder how many of those chemicals will have a news story like this one in ten years when we’re all getting cancer.

Man Cut in Half Lives to Walk Again

Vaughn Dickson — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:14:28 +0000

Respect. Peng Shulin gets cut in half by a transport truck in 1995, and not only does he survive and regain full use of his arms, he’s now learning to walk again with the aid of his new bionic legs and walker. The rest of us have absolutely nothing to complain about today!

Tired of exfoliating? Try the flesh-eating fish spa treatment

Vaughn Dickson — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:53:58 +0000

A slightly unusual spa treament. Climb into the 43-degree-hot waters and let thousands of Garra Rufa tropical fish nibble on your dead skin cells. They supposedly don’t touch healthy skin, and the process is painless apart from a slight tingle, but I’d still where the tightest damn swimming costume I’d find so the little critters don’t decide to camp out in my urethra.

Caution: Some soft drinks may damage your DNA

Vaughn Dickson — Mon, 28 May 2007 09:27:34 +0000

Sodium Benzoate, a preservative that prevents mold in soft drinks, has been shown to damage the DNA in the mitochondria of your cells (the power station that provides your cells with energy), eventually leading to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s. Link to story – Wikipedia entry for Mitochondrion – NSF interactive tour of the cell

Magnetically stimulated power naps

Vaughn Dickson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

A device worn on the head could in squeeze the benefit of eight hours’ sleep into just two or three hours.Scientists in the US used a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce slow waves – indicative of the deepest phase of sleep and essential for learning ability and mood, in a group of sleeping volunteers.

Hook us up! I never sleep as deeply as I did when I was young, and waking up at 6am in the middle of winter doesn’t leave me feeling at all refreshed.

Parasitic twin removed

Vaughn Dickson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This parasitic twin story is quite disturbing. But I wouldn’t really call it a parasite, as it could always be used for spare parts.